Our Chief Content Officer Michele Ghee sits down with MAJOR about about hi award-winning career, and how his soulful music continues to inspire love around the world.
Director: Stephanie Duncan
Production Manager: Kendoysa Pratt
Entertainment Editor: Okla Jones
Director, Post Production: Stephanie Duncan
Filmed at: ESSENCE Studios
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Director: Stephanie Duncan
Production Manager: Kendoysa Pratt
Entertainment Editor: Okla Jones
Director, Post Production: Stephanie Duncan
Filmed at: ESSENCE Studios
Want to see the latest stories on ESSENCE.com ►► https://www.essence.com/bio/
Get the best of ESSENCE delivered right in your inbox ►► https://www.essence.com/newsletters/?source=header_nav%C2%/A0
Want to hear more from our editors? Subscribe to the magazine ►► https://subs.essence.com/pubs/EV/ESS/Self_Gift_subscriptions_Site_Dec_2024.jsp?cds_page_id=281821&cds_mag_code=ESS&id=1737493737517&lsid=50211500278059927&vid=6
Download the E360 App ►► https://apps.apple.com/us/app/e360-app/id1382387491
ESSENCE YouTube Channels:
ESSENCE GU: @girlsunitedbyessence9585
Afropunk: @afropunk
Beautycon: @BeautyConTV
NaturallyCurly: @naturallycurly
Want to see more Essence Videos? Subscribe to our channel!!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00But you know a little something about love.
00:01160 million views.
00:04Yeah. Yeah.
00:05That's the and that's on on on YouTube alone for that.
00:09Is it for that?
00:10This is why I love you.
00:12Come on.
00:13Yeah, this is why I love.
00:17This is like, you know, you got to put essence in this.
00:19I'm going to say yes.
00:21This is why I love.
00:23Yeah. Right.
00:25Because you customize it for your wedding.
00:26So I want a little customization.
00:28Listen essence.
00:29I just gave it to you.
00:30Okay, this is why I love you.
00:38Oh, man.
00:38That's so good.
00:47So welcome to our home.
00:48Yes in Brooklyn.
00:50Yes, so I wanted you to walk through major because you've
00:54been a major part of our family, but you haven't been to this
00:56location and the first time I got to this location.
00:59I walked through and it's so such an honor to be able to come
01:02to work every day with no mask on being able to be yourself.
01:06So I hope you felt the love I did.
01:08It's a lot of great energy here.
01:10You can see everybody working at their stations in their
01:13respective areas.
01:15It's a lot of love and I would only expect that especially
01:21with you being here because that's what you bring you you
01:24bring light you are light and and you're going you're going
01:27to accept the compliments.
01:29Oh my God, this is you've been rocking for a long time Michelle
01:33the people need to know essence powerhouses like this is why
01:36we have the production and the movement that is essence.
01:39I appreciate it.
01:40I have an amazing team and this is amazing family right that
01:43we get to work for so you said the word love so our cultural
01:46affirmation is we love us.
01:48I like that.
01:49I love that because if nobody else is going to love us we
01:51don't love ourselves and I think we show up every day with
01:55the content the stories we tell the people that work here, but
01:58you know a little something about love a hundred and sixty
02:01million views.
02:03Yeah, yeah, that's the and that's on on on YouTube alone for
02:07that for that.
02:08This is why I love you.
02:10Come on.
02:13This is why I love this is why you know, you got to put essence
02:17in this.
02:18You yes, it's this is why I love.
02:22Yeah, right because you customize it for your wedding.
02:24So I want a little customization.
02:26Listen essence.
02:27I just gave it to you.
02:28Okay, this is what I love.
02:36Oh man, that's so good.
02:37That's so good.
02:39So listen, it has been a journey essence was one of the first
02:44publications to show me love for that song eight years ago
02:49and to be here now with you all and able to say that it's since
02:55gone platinum.
02:56It has changed my life.
02:58Mr.
02:58Stevie Wonder said I believe this will be the wedding love
03:01for you wedding love song for years to come and sure enough.
03:04It has been that so many beautiful women in the black
03:09community have embraced the song as their anthem of learning
03:13how to love themselves just as much as they give it.
03:16So it's a beautiful thing.
03:18Yeah, you know, so listen are in 2025 true.
03:22A lot of things have already acted on 2025 already acted.
03:26We had it.
03:26We had an inauguration.
03:28Yes, we do.
03:28Don't we don't even need to get into politics.
03:30But I can I just say this that you're also prophetic because
03:34you created a song talking about praying for people, right?
03:40And can I tell you that this country literally needs that
03:44right now?
03:45Yeah, and I love the fact that you pray and I love the fact
03:48that you're being recognized for because oftentimes we're
03:50saying don't bring prayer into work.
03:52People don't want to recognize prayer, but you're being
03:54nominated for an NAACP image award.
03:56True.
03:57True.
03:57True.
03:58This is this is actually I prayed for you is the name of
04:02the song and I'm super excited about it because it's an
04:07Anthem that literally can soundtrack you just getting back
04:11to the wind and the remembrance that you're not alone.
04:16It's a love letter that I wrote to the ones I love into the
04:19heart of this world that we gonna be.
04:21All right, life lights.
04:24That's one thing we can depend on life doing life in and and
04:28it comes with the ebbs and the flows the good and the bad
04:32the trials and the triumph and it's just a choosing of joy
04:36a choosing of hope that keeps us anchored in the midst of
04:40it all and so I prayed for you is that love letter.
04:43It's a message of encouragement of I saw you I talked to
04:48the Lord on your behalf.
04:49Yeah, that's yeah, and it's and it's special a lot of people
04:53are embracing it the fact that the image awards have nominated
04:59me for outstanding gospel Christian song is big because
05:03you know, I sing at the intersection.
05:05I'm a mainstream soul singer that also happens to be from
05:09the church, which most soul singers are Ray Charles, you
05:12know, Aretha Franklin major, you know, it's it's it's pretty
05:20special because image awards is showing me a lot of love and
05:25this is my ninth nomination.
05:27So what I'm praying for is my first win.
05:30Yeah, you know what and it's going to happen because we're
05:32going to manifest that it says we're two or more gathered.
05:35Let's go.
05:35It's gonna happen right now.
05:36We're two or more vote also vote dot in a ACP image awards
05:42dotnet vote major.
05:44I prayed for you.
05:46Is that how well yeah, so they're going to have a call to
05:48action and we so we're going to tell our whole community to
05:51first of all, listen click and then vote because we have the
05:54power to elect president.
05:55So I know we have the power to elect major as his first image
06:00award winning moment.
06:03Please do that for your good brother.
06:05We're going to we're going to ask our community to do that.
06:07So I'll tell you special no and we're not we don't hear some
06:10of it but but I want to talk about this because I didn't I
06:13didn't know this and then you know, I'm googling what's going
06:15on in LA.
06:16Of course.
06:16We're covering it.
06:17We're talking about it and you got an evacuation notice the
06:22same day that you got a not to listen more specifically this
06:28was on Tuesday.
06:29We find out, you know, the image Awards the nominations.
06:34I'm excited.
06:35I'm grateful to be in the number to hear my name called and
06:39then less than 24 hours later the wildfires.
06:45Wow, it's it was heart-wrenching gut-wrenching to see so many
06:51devastated and impacted by this.
06:53And of course I did what every hope dealer does because I'm
06:57my mama's favorite.
06:58No, that's what your mama calls you.
07:00Yeah.
07:01Yeah, I'm the hope dealer but I did what you know, what just
07:05came natural and I'm encouraging people and I'm letting them
07:08know, you know, listen make it to go bag.
07:12Remember all of your essentials and I'm saying all this less
07:15than 24 hours later after that we get the evacuation notice
07:20a mandate in our area and it was it was it was pretty scary.
07:24But me and my wife were prepared to get on the road and thankfully
07:29we were able to return to a community that wasn't devastated
07:34by the fires, but La is hurting right now Altadena Pasadena
07:40Palisades.
07:40So many have lost so much and I'm just showing up to be help.
07:47So this is it's been a bittersweet time because I want to
07:50celebrate this nomination, but I'm an impact.
07:53So I feel the pain and the heartbreak and the heartache of so
07:57many and I just got to show up, you know, yeah, you know, it's
08:01been really interesting is I didn't know all of the history
08:04right and through tragedy.
08:06There's always awareness and awakening information and what
08:09I'm doing.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Yeah, and what I love about this community is we're not going
08:13to allow each other to finish this is we're not going to do
08:15it.
08:16No, I really believe community just just like essence because
08:20essence is truly community.
08:22Yes, it's it's it's the richness of community, but I believe
08:27community is the expression of God's heart concerning us.
08:31It's the hands and feet at work.
08:33And so I'm just encouraging people to continue to show up
08:38for one another.
08:39Yes, life is hard and rough for everybody.
08:43But when we realize that we're not alone in this we can get
08:47through it together.
08:48Yeah, I love that.
08:49So only have one more question.
08:52I don't want to listen.
08:53You on your way to the airport.
08:54I appreciate you stopping through or for have a sake to
08:57make we try to make this a home place where people can come
09:02and share and be loved on and let you know that we loving
09:05you and we can get you voted in.
09:08So what else are you working on?
09:10I was my family knows I love to watch a Christmas movie and
09:14I was flipping through I turned on I said, is that my friend
09:18major in this Christmas movie?
09:19It was so good.
09:20It was so a heart for Christmas you and your co-star was up
09:24to some some fully Wang some.
09:26Yeah, it was it was it was a good time a heart for Christmas
09:30is still streaming for everybody that hasn't taken down their
09:33Christmas tree or their Christmas lights for those that wait
09:38till Easter to take them down.
09:40It's still up is streaming a heart for Christmas on Amazon
09:44Prime to be so good Pluto TV.
09:46Check it out.
09:47It's got some amazing talent in it.
09:50It's really good.
09:51And what else you working on?
09:53What am I?
09:54Yes, of course.
09:55I'm an actor and on NBC found next Thursday.
10:03It's going to be I'm a guest starring in the TV series found
10:08and so I'm super super excited about that that that show is
10:12about missing Brown and black kids that go under the radar.
10:16It's a drama a black lead who's brilliant named Shinola.
10:21She's amazing.
10:22I was honored to be a part of that production shout out to
10:26and catchy who actually is the creator of the show but also
10:30the creator of All-American and it's a black woman doing her
10:35thing.
10:35So it's a beautiful thing essence is everywhere.
10:39Of course we are.
10:39So final question you've been how many times you've been
10:43Essence Music Fest with the other 400,000 500,000 amazing
10:49black women that descend upon New Orleans probably 1010 years
10:54engaged with Essence Fest 10 years.
10:57Yeah, because even before why I love you.
11:00My first Essence Fest was singing background for Michelle
11:04Williams.
11:05No, and it was a last-minute fill-in because one of her
11:09background singers on the way there ended up having a flat
11:13tire. So I had to step in and she also featured me singing
11:17the song on a stage and we got highlighted for for top 10
11:22moments of Essence Fest and and for some reason I keep getting
11:27these top 10 moment these these moments on the Essence Fest
11:30recap. So I've done the name stage.
11:33I've done the main stage.
11:34Remember our sister Yvonne was one of the producers.
11:37I think that's how did we meet the Yvonne?
11:39We know we didn't meet directly through Yvonne.
11:41We met through BET because okay people need to know my sister
11:47started BET her.
11:49Oh my God.
11:49Okay.
11:50Okay.
11:51She's been about this black female excellence back to you back
11:56to you back to that's major.
12:00No, but Essence Fest is always a good time.
12:03I encourage anybody who hasn't gone to make sure you are there.
12:08It is a reunion.
12:09It is it is a reconnection now.
12:12It ain't just a girls trip.
12:13Yeah, y'all get to do your thing, but they got plenty of stuff
12:16for us guys because we have a good time everybody coming
12:19together the community coming together.
12:21It's a big family reunion.
12:23It is it is.
12:24Yeah, y'all get to do your girls trip thing.
12:26And that's what it is.
12:27Will Pack is a friend of mine.
12:28You know, I wanted to yeah, I see that I see that and he's
12:31my fraternity brother.
12:32So, you know salute and he's got his new book and he's still
12:36and so but his brother has a new song called I pray for you
12:41zoom in you're welcome.
12:43This is a stress ball that I'm giving you and in case you
12:48ever needed the reminder stuff gets crazy body.
12:51It won't hurt to say I prayed for you.
12:54I'm praying for you.
12:56That is a great that's that's for you.
12:58This is for me.
12:58I thought this is for you.
13:00Listen, that's you know, I'm an independent artist whose
13:02mama named a major.
13:03So I gotta I gotta promote us.
13:06Well, we gonna help you get that name.
13:08So listen, I'm gonna say thank you now, but I'm gonna move
13:11out the way.
13:11Okay, because I would love for you to have an unplug moment
13:16and do a little I pray for you for all the millions of people
13:20that are gonna see this.
13:21Excellent.
13:22Okay, I'm gonna do all right.
13:26So beautiful people.
13:27It's a whole lot going on in the world and I know sometimes
13:32it feels lonely when life does what it's gonna do life.
13:38I'm the hope dealer more specifically my mama's favorite
13:41hope dealer and I have a song that I wrote as a love letter
13:45to the ones I love and to the heart of this world that we
13:49gonna be.
13:49All right, it's called.
13:51I prayed for you.
13:53I'm gonna do a little Acapulco, but I hope you listen to
13:57these words and to every woman listening every black woman
14:03watching know that I prayed for you says I said a prayer for
14:10you.
14:12I said a prayer.
14:15I said a prayer for you.
14:18I said this prayer.
14:20I prayed you take the moment.
14:24I prayed you take the time to see that you were special and
14:31always on my mind.
14:33I prayed for you.
14:35I sang a song for you.
14:38I sang this song.
14:40I sang a song for you.
14:43I sang this song as the flowers feel the garden and the oceans
14:50greet the shore the horizons of the sunshine that of you I do
14:56adore I prayed I prayed for you.
15:02I spoke a word for you.
15:05I spoke this word.
15:08I spoke a word for you.
15:10I spoke this word.
15:12I said end this senseless violence but arrested prideful
15:18gain.
15:19There's a message in the silence that can heal our earthly pain.
15:25I prayed.
15:25I prayed.
15:26I prayed for you.
15:28Holy waters.
15:31Sons and daughters.
15:35Revive our land that we may rise again.
15:40Holy waters.
15:43Sons and daughters.
15:46Revive our land.
15:48That we may rise again.
15:52I prayed you take the moment.
15:57I prayed you take the time to see that you were special and always
16:07on my heart and my mind made you prayed.
16:15Yeah.
16:18We gonna be alright y'all.
16:21I prayed for you.